Chapter 326: The True Black Magic Lineage Lies in Harry

Thirteen years passed in a flash; Sirius suddenly began screaming in his cell: "He's still alive! He's at Hogwarts!"

He saw the newspaper and recognized Wormtail's Animagus form. For the first time in thirteen years, he had a goal again—and he planned his escape, succeeding quickly.

After escaping, Sirius went to the Shrieking Shack, waiting for an opportunity to infiltrate Hogwarts. But as he leaned back on the bed, pondering how to contact Lupin, an unexpected figure appeared—Wormtail.

"Peter! You're really still alive," Sirius exclaimed, rising eagerly—but seeing Wormtail pointing his wand at him, he could only offer a helpless smile.

"Sorry, Padfoot," Wormtail's eyes darted. "I'm not sure if you're friend or foe."

"For thirteen years, your brother Regulus hunted me like a madman—I had to become a rat and hide in the Weasleys' home," he explained. "I'm certain he wanted to kill me."

"Yes, that was the last order the Dark Lord gave him," Sirius said, voice pained. "I saw on the paper that Harry was alive—so that night, you escaped, didn't you?"

"I, I..." Wormtail stammered, his terror at the thought of the Dark Lord wanting him dead plain on his face.

"How did you do it? Through your Animagus form?" Sirius asked eagerly. "But you managed to save Harry too."

"I!" Wormtail suddenly collapsed to the floor, muttering: "I need to see Dumbledore. I have to tell him a terrible secret... Harry isn't Harry..."

The closet door burst open—Snape raised his wand. "Stupefy!"

After immobilizing Sirius, he walked slowly toward Wormtail and whispered: "What secret do you want to tell?"

"I, I..." he still stammered—but in an instant, another figure appeared at the doorway.

"Kill him," Regulus said. "I must complete my mission."

"Don't rush, Regulus," Snape waved his wand, petrifying Wormtail too. "I have personal business with them. Killing them outright isn't enough."

"I didn't order you to kill my brother," Regulus said coldly.

"Then take him," Snape offered a cruel suggestion. "Put him under the Imperius Curse, hide him at home with the Invisibility Cloak, and let Kreacher watch him."

"But Wormtail knows secrets he shouldn't!" Regulus protested.

"That dirty rat's words," Snape smiled cruelly, "erase his memory and let him take Sirius's place in prison—how does that sound?"

"If you're going to do it, wipe his memory now—right in front of me," Regulus said.

"Oh, certainly," Snape bent down, locking eyes with Wormtail for a long moment, then raised his wand to his forehead and shouted: "Obliviate!"

"Obliviate! Obliviate! Obliviate!" Regulus added several more Memory Charms until he was certain—then he lifted Sirius onto his shoulder to leave. "You can call the Aurors now."

Snape gave a barely perceptible smile, then glanced at Wormtail on the floor and murmured a name: "Saruman..."

Originally, these hidden truths would have died with the participants—but at the end of fourth year, a blast from Tranzero blew away all pretenses hanging over Snape and Regulus. For reasons unknown, they shared a quiet afternoon tea in Spinner's End.

"I left the house on Grimmauld Place to my brother," Regulus said. "I'm tired of the Dark Lord's cause—and even of the Black name. From now on, I want to live for myself."

"I respect your choice, Regulus," Snape said, legs crossed, relaxed. "Or should I now call you Night Father?"

"Thank you, Severus," Regulus sipped his tea. "I've made friends with several werewolves—my life now satisfies me. But one thing still puzzles me. I know you're a master of Legilimency—what did you see in Wormtail's memory before you wiped it?"

"Ah, I thought you hadn't noticed," Snape said calmly. "But to piece together the truth, Wormtail's memory alone may not suffice. What exactly happened that night?"

"Hah, you're still the same," Regulus laughed, relieved. "Then let's share."

Snape waved his wand—a Pensieve floated out and settled steadily on the tea table.

Each drew memories from their minds and placed them inside; Regulus added an extra vial. "This is Sirius's."

Harry felt himself sinking again into the Pensieve—but in truth, he had stepped out of it.

"I can hardly believe this is the truth," Harry stared at the tangled silver threads. "But this name—Saruman—did you also read the book I gave Professor Binns?"

"To prevent you from forgetting your true identity, Potter!" Snape snapped. "Every time you look in the mirror, you should know—you are Lily's child, and nothing else!"

"But this appearance—" Harry rubbed his head. "Won't the Death Eaters suspect?"

"Few Death Eaters remember your parents' faces, and none know what Saruman should look like," Snape said. "Most importantly, your Dark Mark responds—that's enough."

"Does Delphi's Mark respond too?" Harry asked.

"Yes, faintly—perhaps because she's young," Snape touched his arm. "Or perhaps because bloodline and Horcrux strength differ."

"But on you," Snape pressed his forearm, "I feel the Mark is unusually warm—hotter than a normal Horcrux. Perhaps because you were an accidental creation, your soul fragment is larger."

"This also perfectly explains why he was weak after his resurrection—Quirrell didn't take the blood of an enemy, but of a son."

"Actually," Harry corrected, "an enemy's blood must be taken by force. I was collected by Quirrell by accident."

"Regardless, back to the matter at hand," Snape waved his hand. "You must fabricate memories to make it seem you've long known your true origins—otherwise, the Death Eaters won't believe you're on their side. This is a crucial part of our plan."

Harry frowned.

After nearly an hour of trying, Harry still couldn't weave convincing memories. Snape, disappointed, told him to leave.

"Your talent is clearly poor," he said. "Can't you even imagine?"

"Sorry, Professor," Harry said. He didn't fully agree with Snape's plan—but he truly wished to learn this seemingly useful skill.

Before his next Occlumency lesson on Thursday, Harry needed to impersonate Ho Fa to meet Lucius. Naturally, he first met Sirius and told him roughly what Snape had said.

"A clever story," Sirius nodded. "From this, he may intend for you to become the new Dark Lord as Saruman Riddle."

"But I'm Harry Potter," Harry protested.

"Yes, that's one point," Sirius shrugged. "But another is—even if Harry became Dark Lord, what good would it do?"

"Snape..." Harry couldn't make sense of it. "And he knows the Horcruxes and paintings are lies. We should be trying to dismantle the Death Eaters' power."

"Ah! Yes! We've been settling for second-best," Sirius suddenly understood. "You were focused on using the paintings to intimidate them, to stop their crimes—and so you reasoned Lucius should be Dark Lord."

"But if our goal from the start was to destroy the Death Eaters, we need one of our own as Dark Lord—to draw Bellatrix's fanatics over to us," Sirius said seriously. "And don't you remember our original discussion? We need to merge the Death Eaters and the Order. If you can truly subdue two top Death Eaters and hold the Dark Lord's throne, isn't that our goal achieved?"

"But I don't want to be Dark Lord," Harry said gloomily. "I've barely started reading Grindelwald's notes."

"Dumbledore studied Dark Magic too," Sirius said, voice complex. "Dark Magic is still magic. Without studying it, we can't reach the peak of magical power."

"Because Dark Magic involves a crucial concept: using emotion to amplify spell power," he added. "We can't study the Patronus Charm forever. To explore the link between emotion and spells, we must engage with Dark Magic."

"And many spells aren't strictly Dark Magic—just too powerful or hard to control, like Fiendfyre," Harry recalled. "Grindelwald said labeling dangerous magic as Dark Magic is lazy."

"You could be a Dark Lord who specializes in dangerous magic—or learn just a little Dark Magic. It doesn't matter," Sirius seemed about to say more, but checked his watch. "Never mind. We'll talk later. First, fool Lucius."

"Fool?"

"Yes," Sirius reminded him. "Ho Fa doesn't yet know Harry Potter's true identity—he can only choose to support Lucius or Delphi."